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Table Rock, MO
2005 BASSMASTER TOUR
Summary
04/12/2005 - The 2005 BASS Tour was a good season for me. I ended up 21st and qualified for my 15th consecutive Bassmasters Classic. It was a season of solid growth for me personaly, both as an angler and as a man. The 2005 Tour was not my best season ever, but when I look back on it, I am proud of what I was able to accomplish. In sum, I have grown closer to God this year, and by His Mercy and Grace, He chose to show His Favor on my fishing once again.
The thing I am most interested in at this point in my life is growing more and more in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ each and every year. If God chooses to continue to bless my career, great. If not, I know Romans 8:28, and I know He is working for good anyway. I can say I have been able to shed some more sin from my life in 2005 and I have also been able to serve others in various ways, and most importantly, I have had some great times with God the Father this year. So it has been a good year so far.
We are about half way through the tournament season, with the E50s and the Classic still to come.
Interestingly to me is the fact that finesse played such a big role on the tour this year for me. At the opening event of the season at Toho, I caught all my fish on a finesse worm on a 1/16 oz. head and 10# Vanish in very heavy cover fishing extremely slowly. The Holy Spirit put me on those fish, and I finished 9th to open the year.
At the next event at the Harris Chain I had a good first day, then a bad second day to finish 61st. I caught 'em on beds the first day, and there were no bed fish left on day 2 so I had to scramble and I was very close to a good stringer the second day, but it did not happen.
Guntersville was the 3rd event, and I had a lousy practice. I found what I thought was a few fish on some shad in a depression that turned out to be a big school of bass. I finished 21st, and caught most of them on a suspending jerkbait. It was good to finally break my curse on Guntersville and catch some fish there for a change!!
The next one at Clarks Hill was a near disaster. I had no fish with an hour to go the first day, then found a school of bass and ended up with a 10 pound limit, and even lost 2 big ones late, all on a suspending jerkbait. The next day was a bluebird day and they would not hit the jerkbait, so I caught a small limit there on a carolina rigged lizard. I ended up 61st.
The next tournament at Norman was a disaster, I ended up tied or 136th place. Here is where the season gets interesting....I brought Jill and the girls with me to this event as they were on spring break. We rented a house on the lake right next to Alton Jones and his family. All our kids are the same age and we are all great friends. The Lord worked it out so that Alton and I tied for 136th place in this event. What are the odds of that? That night, after the tournament was over, we got together with the Joneses and just had a great time together. In fact, we got to having so much fun that we literally laughed until we cried. I got to think about that later...that kind of joy can only come from knowing Christ. Laughing hysterically after finishing in LAST PLACE? Thank you Jesus for the joy you bring. Funny, I don't ever recall laughing until I cried after winning a tournament.
Finally, we went to one of my most favorite lakes to close out the Tour...Table Rock. I had dropped to 30th in the points race after my bomb at Lake Norman, and I figured I needed a top 20 finish at Table Rock to gain a Classic berth. I was in 26th after the first day with an 11# limit caught fishing a Berkley finesse worm and tube around docks. I went out the second day needing 12 pounds to clinch my 15th consecutive Classic berth.
At 1pm the second day I hadn't had a bite! I began to feel the stress and negative energy of a Classic berth slipping away. Earlier that second day, my partner had caught a 4 pounder swimming a grub in 15' of water. I knew that swimming a grub was a technique that some of the locals used in the clear waters of Table Rock, but I had never tried it. Not once! However, I was now passed my breaking point. I couldn't do it on my own (LOOK OUT, NOW GOD GETS A CHANCE)and in desperation, I ask my amateur partner for one of his grubs, as I did not have a grub in the boat.(THANK YOU LORD FOR THE RIGHT PARTNER). I rig up the grub, and say to my partner "Lets go try that point over there, I had a couple of bites there 6 years ago". We roll up to the point, I throw the grub out, let it sink to about 15' and begin to reel it in nice and slow, just as if I were crappie fishing. I get bit and set the hook, but it is no crappie. I boat a 5 pound largemouth! We fished that point for another 30 miniutes to no avail, so I left it to let it rest and came back 45 minutes later. This time my partner catches a keeper, but I don't. We fished the point again for a while, but nothing else bit. We left the point to let it rest, and came back one final time with 45 minutes to go in the day.
I know there were many people praying for me that day, because they told me so afterwards, proving once again that prayer does move the Hand of God. God showed once again that when it comes to answering prayer He is seldom early, but never late!! The following was just an absolute miracle, and God gets all the glory!!
So I have 45 minutes left in my day, and in the Tour season. I have one 5 pound bass in the livewell, I need 7 pounds to make the Classic. I come back to the point once more, throw my grub out and catch a 2 pound keeper. Then my partner yells, "I've got a big one", and as soon as he says that, a 6 pounder eats my grub! Now we have the biggest double of my bass fishing career on, he has 7-8 pounder and I have a 6! Both on spinning gear and 8 pound line. That was one exciting moment! I yelled at him to try to keep his fish near the back of the boat while I played mine near the bow. I knew from past experiences salmon fishing what can happen when you get a double with big fish. It can end in a nightmare if the lines get tangled. I think my partner would have liked some help landing his fish, but I was tied up! I knew that if I landed my 6, I would make the Classic. Finally, I boated my fish, but my partners got tangled in something near the bottom and broke off. Then, with 10 minutes to go, I caught a 3 1/2 pounder that clinched it for me. Those 4 bass weighed 15-13 and put me in 9th place. I made the Top 12 cut and got to fish again the next day. The following day, I fished that point 5 times and never had a bite.
Miracle bass, that is what they were! I tell you, there is nothing like walking with God. When He decides to thrill you, it just takes your beath away!!
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